Odisha HRD

Fifth anniversary of this site: We started with campaigning for a central university in KBK; Its time to campaign for a central agricultural university in KBK (especially Kalahandi)

Our first posting in this site was on November 28th, 2006. It is at https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/7. It was about a central university in KBK. We succeeded in our mission and a central university in KBK was announced in March 2008, and it has now been established in Koraput district.

Earlier this year (On May 22nd 2011) I wrote to the planning commission to establish a central agricultural university in Odisha as part of the 12th plan. Following are excerpts of my mail.

I propose that the 12th plan staring from 2012 include several Central Agricultural Universities in backward district clusters of India that have potential for agriculture.

Sirs and and Madams: One of the biggest achievement of the 11th plan was that the new institutions (16 central universities, 8 new IITs, 7 new IIMs, proposed 20 new IIITs, proposed 14 innovation universities) were located across India, in states ruled by UPA, in states not ruled by UPA, and so on. It was an inclusive distribution and less driven by political connections.

I  request that similar distribution be made with respect to the institutions that are proposed for the 12th plan, starting with several central agricultural universities with various colleges (Agriculture, Horticulture, Veterinary, etc.).

The initial wave of creation of agricultural universities across India (in the 1960s) were an important factor in the initial Green revolution of India. However, as has been noted in the last two budgets (2010-11 and 2011-12) there is a need for another such revolution, especially taking into account factors such as (i) further mechanization (ii) urbanization (iii) looking east  and (iv) developing backward and tribal areas.

In the 2010-11 budget speech ( http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2010-11/bs/speecha.htm ) the Finance Minister had said the following:

44.        The agriculture sector occupies centre-stage in our resolve to promote inclusive growth, enhance rural incomes and sustain food security. To spur the growth in this sector, the Government intends to follow a four-pronged strategy covering (a) agricultural production; (b) reduction in wastage of produce;
(c) credit support to farmers; and (d) a thrust to the food processing sector.

45.        The first element of the strategy is to extend the green revolution to the eastern region of the country comprising Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Eastern UP, West Bengal and Orissa,…

In the 2011-12 budget speech ( http://indiabudget.nic.in/bspeecha.asp ) he said the following:

Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern Region

52.    The Green Revolution in Eastern Region is waiting to happen. To realize the potential of the region, last year’s initiative will be continued in 2011-12 with a further allocation of `400 crore. The program would target the improvement in the rice based cropping system of Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Both speech say the green revolution needs to be extended to the eastern region.  The allocation of a total of 400 crores to 7 states is miniscule for the purpose and does very little.

Hence, I request that this aspect of extending the green revolution to the eastern region be taken seriously and in the 12th plan Central Agricultural Universities be established in appropriate locations in these states and some of the other states of the country.

Somewhat of a start in this direction has been made via the allocation of 30 crores for a Central Agricultural University in Bundelkhand in the 2011-12 budget.

It was reported by the press that Mr. Rahul Gandhi lobbied for this.

I would like to thank him for his vision and initiative and humbly request the  planning commission that they need to also think of the other backward areas of the country.

Taking all the above into account, it would be a win-win to include the establishment of several Central Agricultural Universities in the country located in backward districts with agriculture potential. The win-win aspects are:

(i) They will help higher education and GER, but will not stress the MHRD budget or its management. The majority of the funding could come from the Ministry of Agriculture with some required contributions from the state governments.

(ii) They will help bring in a new green revolution in some areas and extend the green revolution to the eastern region.

(iii) Since there have not been many new agricultural universities across the country, it will be comparatively easier to recruit faculty for these new institutions.

(iv) By locating them in the backward district clusters, they will bring Bharat and India closer.

I had sent copies of my mail to the MPs of Odisha as well as the Chief Minister’s officer. I talked to the secretary of agriculture Ranglal Jamunda by email at agrsec.or@nic.in  as well as by phone and urged him that the Odisha government must push for a central agricultural university in Odisha, especially in the KBK regions (in particular, Kalahandi, as Kalahandi is known to be one of the rice bowl of Odisha; and Kalahandi was skipped over when deciding on the location of the central university in Koraput).

My emails and phone calls has had no visible impact on Odisha government, Odisha officials or Odisha MPs as so far I have not read any news regarding Odisha pursuing a central agricultural university. However, the news of the West Bengal government  pursuing a central agricultural university came out after a few days of my writing to the planning commission. It is possible that may mail to the planning commission somehow got forwarded to the right people in West Bengal or it may just be a pure coincidence. Following is from a Telegraph article on 13th July 2011.

I think there is still time to pursue to get this included in the 12th plan. I request all readers to write to the Chief Minister’s office at cmo@ori.nic.in regarding this.

Sincerely,

Chitta Baral

11 comments November 29th, 2011

Excerpts from the National Innovation Council’s Year 1 report; idea of a meta-university is a good one

The various reports are at http://www.innovationcouncil.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=8&Itemid=10. The following excerpts are from the report at http://www.innovationcouncil.gov.in/images/stories/reportpeople/report%20to%20the%20people-full-report.pdf.

NInC is focused on encouraging and facilitating the creation of an Indian Model of Innovation by looking at five key parameters: Platform, Inclusion, Eco-system, Drivers and Discourse. The aim is to re-define innovations to go beyond formal R&D parameters and look at innovation as a broader concept that breaks sectoral silos and moves beyond a high-tech, product-based approach to include organisational, process and service innovation. The core idea is to innovate to produce affordable and qualitative solutions that address the needs of people at the Bottom of the Pyramid, eliminate disparity and focus on an inclusive growth model.

… Some key initiatives that NInC has focused on in the past year include: (a) Developing a framework to finance innovation for the Bottom of the Pyramid through the creation of an India Inclusive Innovation Fund; (b) Creating an eco-system for seeding innovations in regional industry with a focus on MSMEs, by facilitating the creation of Industry Innovation Clusters to drive job creation and productivity; (c) Leveraging our demographic dividend for innovation by creating a connected India through the spread of rural broadband in two years time to all 250,000 panchayats; (d) Nurturing innovation in the education system through action in schools and colleges by intervening in curriculum, talent-spotting of innovators among students and award of Innovation Fellowships, creation of a Meta University, as a global first, that rides on the National Knowledge Network to promote multi-disciplinary learning, facilitating the creation of innovation ecosystems at Universities through University Innovation Clusters; (e) Promoting an innovation culture through action in areas of communication and advocacy through an Innovation Portal and working through mass media organisations; (f) Creating an institutional framework for innovations in Government by facilitating the setting up of State Innovation Councils in each State, and Sectoral Innovation Councils aligned to Union Government Ministries; (g) Promotion of projects that create an innovation dividend like the setting up of a Rabindranath Tagore Knowledge City in Kolkata, setting up twenty Innovation Design Centres co-located in existing institutes; (h) Setting challenges for the Indian imagination to come up with solutions, especially those that relate to inclusive innovation; (i) Promoting co-creation and sharing of knowledge through Global Knowledge Partnerships, beginning with a Global Roundtable on Innovations for sharing ideas.

…

Developing an India Inclusive Innovation Fund

To promote inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship focusing on the needs of people in the lower echelons of society, an India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF) was conceptualised, detailed and is currently under discussion with the Ministry of Finance and leaders of industry. The Fund seeks to promote enterprises engaged in developing solutions in key areas such as health, education, agriculture, handloom, handicrafts and other small business enterprises. The Fund will combine commercial and social returns. The Fund will be capitalised to an eventual target size of Rs 5000 crores to be achieved in phases. It will be kick-started with seed investment from the Government and bilateral/ multilateral institutions and go to scale with private capital. The Fund will be an autonomous, professionally managed entity with a social investment focus.

PROGRESS

The idea of the IIIF has been proposed to the Ministry of Finance and its initial contribution will kick start the Fund in the fiscal year 2012-13.

…

Nurturing Innovation through Education

To promote creativity and nurture innovations NInC has so far made six proposals to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). These include five proposals made in May 2011 and one in September 2011.

(a)    Creation of a separate scholarship stream of National Innovation Scholarships analogous to the National Talent Search Scheme. This will help identify talented children at the school level who think creatively, laterally and innovatively on issues that they perceive as important in their local environment. It is expected to have a multiplier effect of valuing creativity and innovation by parents, teachers and the learning system.

(b)    Setting up an Innovation Centre in each DIET (District Institute of Education and Training) to enhance teacher training and enable them to become facilitators of creativity and innovative thinking. This could be done by tapping local creative talent on part-time basis into DIETs.

(c)    Mapping of Local History, Ecology and Cultural Heritage by each High School in the country to create critical thinking on their local environment by students.

(d) Creation of a National Innovation Promotion Service to replace/add to National Service Scheme in Colleges to use college students to identify local innovations. This is a scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which along with Ministry of HRD has been requested to examine its feasibility.

(e) Setting up a Meta University, as a redefinition of the university model in the 21st century by leveraging India’s National Knowledge Network to enable multi-disciplinary learning and collaborative knowledge creation.

(f)    Setting up twenty Design Innovation Centres co-located in Institutes of National Importance. It has been proposed to set up these Design Innovation Centres in twenty select institutions and included in the 12th Plan for consideration by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Co-location in campuses of national repute like IITs/NITs will help leveraging of academic and industry resources and give a boost to design capacity in the country.

(g) Setting up a pilot University Innovation Cluster. NInC proposes to identify and facilitate the development of 20 University Innovation Clusters across the country where innovation would be seeded through Cluster Innovation Centres.The CIC will provide a platform for the university and its partners to forge linkages between various stakeholders from industry and academia, initiate and assist innovation activities, encourage innovations in curricula and act as a catalyst and facilitator. It will also work closely with other industry clusters in its region. An initial pilot with University of Delhi has commenced and received overwhelming response from the student community.

PROGRESS

Ministry of Human Resource Development has green—lighted the following three proposals:

(a) Award of 1000 Innovation Fellowships at the School Level (Classes 9-12)

(b) Introducing the Mapping of Local History, Local Ecology and Local Culture and Heritage by all High Schools

(c) Setting up the first Meta University of the world for multi-disciplinary learning and collaborative learning All these three proposals will roll out in academic year 2012-13. Other proposals are also under consultation with Ministry of HRD.

(d)    University of Delhi has set up a University Innovation Cluster as a pilot which has been widely welcomed

The 12th Five Year Plan will include all approved proposals. Most, except the proposal on Design Innovation Centres, can be done under existing policies and schemes by appropriate modifications.

…

Some of the key initiatives taken up by the National Innovation Council in its first year to nurture innovations through education are given below.

(a) Creation of a separate scholarship stream for National Innovation Scholarships analogous to the National Talent Search Scheme To complement the government’s National Talent Search Scheme, the NInC has proposed the introduction of a parallel stream of National Innovation Scholarships to be administered by NCERT and conducted through the decentralised management system it has put in place.This will help identify talented children at the High School and Secondary School level (Classes 9-12) who think creatively, laterally and innovatively on issues that they perceive as important. It will have a multiplier effect of valuing creativity and innovation by parents and teachers and will gradually evolve into a culture of valuing innovation in the schooling system. It is proposed that 1000 scholarships be considered for awarding each year under this scheme with 50% earmarked for innovations by students in schools located in non-urban areas and at least 33% earmarked for children from the field of liberal arts.

…

(e) Setting up a Meta University as a Global First to promote collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning using the National Knowledge Network

India pioneered the idea of the university with Nalanda and Taxila to explore a life of the mind and undertake an exploration of ideas.Today India is poised to reinvent the university of the 21st century as a new adventure of cross-cutting ideas facilitated by technology. In doing so it seeks to position the university as a cradle of innovation.The National Knowledge Network connecting India’s major knowledge institutions is already in place and provides a platform to facilitate this endeavour, further the fact that most of these major knowledge institutions in India are part of a public system, makes collaborative effort easier. Technology offers unprecedented opportunities to “disrupt the classroom” as traditionally understood, provide for individualised and customised learning and radically alter pedagogic systems to move towards collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning.

Seizing these new opportunities and leveraging the platform of the National Knowledge Network, the National Innovation Council has put forward a proposal to create the first global Meta University. The idea of a Meta University was first conceptualised by Charles Vest and later developed by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams as a Global Network of Higher Learning to be realised in several stages.The basic idea of a Meta University as a collaborative platform where a network of Universities offers students a customised learning experience is eminently applicable in the Indian context.

The National Knowledge Network (NKN) initiated by the National Knowledge Commission, is already being implemented to connect all our universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, hospitals and agricultural institutions across the country with a high speed (multi gigabit) fibre based, broadband network. The NKN by networking all knowledge institutions and providing them with high speed connectivity aims to facilitate flow of information and create a platform for collaboration between researchers, academic faculty and students from diverse backgrounds and geographies. In addition, the Ministry of HRD aims to eventually provide connectivity to colleges and schools as well as support content creation through its initiatives. Further, the proposed Universities for Innovation Bill recognises flexibility as its DNA to facilitate innovation.Thus India provides unique opportunities for innovating with this idea of a ‘Meta University’ given the enormous unmet demand for high quality education in an environment of limited resources and the availability of a dedicated national network. It will enable the breaking down of silos of academic disciplines and help students to gain multi-disciplinary understanding to be able to create more “rounded” intellectuals for society.
The Meta University riding on the NKN envisages a collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning platform, where students enrolled in a primary college/university will be able to take courses available in other universities and colleges. With the help of Mentors, students will therefore be allowed to customise their learning experience and select options from a wide menu of choices, leveraging the specialisation of individual institutions. So it will be possible for an engineering student from, say IIT Kanpur to also enrol for a course in ancient history from the Jawaharlal Nehru University or a mathematics student from Indian Institute of Science pursue a course in comparative literature from the Jadavpur University.

The Meta University will reinterpret the concept of a University as not just a traditional, physical space of learning, but as a repository of knowledge and information that can be delivered in multiple ways, and can be accessed from anywhere and anytime. It will seek to enhance the learning experience through new and innovative delivery models of education that allow students and institutions to collaborate in unprecedented ways.

This model is low-cost, requires no brick-and-mortar, leapfrogs over conventional bottlenecks of non-availability of a talented faculty pool, and works within existing legal systems. It innovates on both the content and form of the twenty-first Century University and offers a unique model for the proposed fourteen Universities of Innovation mooted in India. It is hoped that this would become a model for the world to emulate to move towards collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning that redefines knowledge-creation and knowledge-sharing in the twenty-first century.
Though the internet and technology are fundamental to this conception of the Meta University, at the crux is not a new technology but a ‘new pedagogy’ that is more in tune with the requirements of the knowledge society of the twenty-first century. In such an environment there is a greater focus on moving from the chalk and talk model with the teacher at the centre, to a learner-centric, collaborative model that allows continuous learning from the environment.The web/internet therefore provides both a platform for communication and collaborations as well as a source of content.

The learning platform of the Meta University will incorporate these principles of collaborative and multi-disciplinary knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, openness and flexibility in its design. It will in effect be a test bed for experimenting with a new model of teaching and learning that may show the way for a new education model for the future.The detailed design of the Meta University will be undertaken by a core group of academics, heads of institutions and experts who would constitute the Board of Governors of this new Meta University. The National Innovation Council is working closely with government departments concerned and other stakeholders to implement these initiatives at the earliest.

(f) Setting up of 20 Design Innovation Centres by co-locating them with Institutes of National Importance Design is a key element of the innovation process and will be critical for driving innovation in the new knowledge economy. Design-driven innovations can ensure sustainable competitive edge, enhance industrial productivity and also address crucial challenges by harnessing design thinking for needs-based solutions. Design thinking is especially important for solving key problems because it works with a different set of processes: repeatedly reframing the problem, engaging with stakeholders, prototyping and testing solutions, exploring alternatives, visioning scenarios and so on.

In the last fifty years the world has seen dramatic changes and design has also transformed significantly along the way. Design and Design thinking are increasingly about building in capabilities that empower and enable people to use these resources, with quality of life and environment as the guiding principles, not just economic factors which are also important. However, we as a nation do not have enough state-of-the-art design institutes to enhance our innovation capabilities.The major bottleneck in clearance of setting up of Design Institutes across the country is availability of land, as well as access with an ambience conducive to professional education and trained and talented faculty. One such campus needs a minimum of 30 acres of land for construction of about 20,000 sq meter area of class rooms, studios, hostels, offices, faculty residences etc.

In this context, NInC has suggested a model of setting up Design Innovation Centres in twenty select locations to be included in the 12th Plan for consideration by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.These could be through co-location in campuses of national repute to ensure maximum convergence, optimum utilisation of existing resources and infrastructure, and to leverage a context of academia-industry interaction. These centres could be located in IITs, new IITs where there is industry presence, the NITs, and select Technical and Liberal Arts Universities. Co-location will address issues of availability of land and faculty, save costs, enable horizontal transfer of knowledge, as well as offer a ready talent pool to enable timely execution of this initiative. Also, co-locating these schools in institutes beyond IITs would also ensure that emphasis of design education is not on engineering and technology oriented product design alone, but could extend to other faculties/disciplines related to eco-friendly and green design for products and services, service design, communication design, systems design etc. broadly integrating design intervention in different sectors supporting economic growth and increasing employment opportunities. Further, existing National Institutes of Design could play a mentoring role to these centres given their expertise in the field.The aim is to make these Innovation Design Centres/Schools state-of-the-art institutions to enhance the innovation quotient in the country and foster a design culture.

Out of the above, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has green-lighted the following proposals: Award of 1000 innovation fellowships at the school level; Mapping of local history, local ecology and local culture and heritage by high school students; Setting up the first Meta University of the world for multi-disciplinary learning.

(g) Creation of Cluster Innovation Centres (CICs) at Universities
Over the years universities in India have become increasingly focused on their teaching function, imparting and disseminating knowledge and training to a large number of students.With a few notable exceptions research by and large has moved out of academic institutions to stand alone research centres and laboratories. Further, university linkages with industry and society have at best been weak and under developed. As a result, our Universities have not been at the vanguard of innovations that solve real world problems and result in creation of products and processes that boost the economy and help the common man. While far reaching systemic reforms in higher education are required and the government is committed to them, one significant way to revitalise the university system in the context of innovation is to strengthen its linkages with industry and society.

Recognising that educational institutions must be at the centre of the innovation process, in the last decade or so renewed efforts have been made by various stakeholders to promote innovations and entrepreneurship in our educational institutions. The Government has taken up various initiatives like setting up Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centres (IEDC) in educational institutions, Science & Technology Entrepreneur Parks, and Technology Business Incubators, in order to promote knowledge based and innovation driven enterprises. Other initiatives include creating better incentive structures to reward innovations, encouraging young talent through scholarships, making available risk/venture capital and other necessary ingredients to strengthen the institutional capacity for innovation in the country.
In order to strengthen these efforts and to make Universities hubs of innovation the National Innovation Council seeks to create Cluster Innovation Centres (CIC) at Universities with an aim to foster an ecosystem of innovation, and connect research with application for the benefit of society. The CIC will provide a platform for the university and its partners to forge linkages between various stakeholders from industry and academia, initiate and assist innovation activities, encourage innovations in curricula and act as a catalyst and facilitator. It will also work closely with other industry clusters in its region. The CIC will provide a range of services and facilities, starting from evaluating an idea for its innovation potential, advice on technical and commercial viability, advice on IPR issues, guidance on relevant schemes and grants, helping innovators find partners and collaborators including funding, business development and finally taking the products and processes to end users.The CIC will have an appropriate institutional structure to enable it to undertake a range of functions, and a lean management team with expertise in guiding stakeholders in innovation management.
The NInC aims to catalyse the creation of at least 20 such Cluster Innovation Centres at Universities and provide support for the clusters to bear fruit and sustain.The NInC is currently working with a few select academic institutions to showcase the potential of Cluster Innovation Centres and will scale up this activity to a larger number of educational institutions in the coming year.

November 18th, 2011

After Chandigarh, Gwalior, Mumbai and Mysore the fifth Zonal Institute of Education and Training (ZIET) to come up in Bhubaneswar

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

… Kendriya Vidyalay Sangathan (KVS) has decided to set up a Zonal Institute of Education and Training (ZIET) in Bhubaneswar. This will be the fifth such institute in the country and will cater to over 350 schools of eastern region as a resource centre for states like Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand and the northeast states.

"Earlier we had to depend on other ZIETs for the purpose of conducting in-service training, refresher courses, workshop and induction courses and research activities. The ZIET in Bhubaneswar will cater to the need of not only teaching but also non-teaching staff of schools. Besides, it will also help in preparation of model lessons and study material, to plan and propose the new areas and strategies required to be incorporated during the training programme to improve the quality of education," said principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya-1, S K Behura.

The ZIET will temporarily function from KV-I till its own building will be constructed in its permanent KVS building at Bankuala, on the outskirts of the city, Behura said.

ZIET, an autonomous body under the ministry of HRD, would also ensure that the participants are provided training in the areas of subject expertise, communication skills, classroom transaction skills, evaluation skills and student-development skills. It also aims at promoting a positive work culture and attitude among teachers through training and develop a healthy attitude in teachers towards research in school education. …

"Initially ZIET will provide training to KVS staff but later will also help in capacity building of employees of all CBSE schools in the region," Behura added.

The web sites of the existing ZIET are as follows:

• Chandigarh: www.zietchandigarh.org. (From 2009)
  
• Gwalior: www.zietgwalior.org. (From 2002)
  
• Mumbai: www.zietmumbai.in. (From 2003)
  
• Mysore: www.zietmysore.org. (From 2004)
  

September 28th, 2011

IIIT Kancheepuram bill passed in Lok sabha; Sibal says there was need for more such institutes, particularly in backward states like Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan besides Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast

Following is an excerpt from a report in ibnlive.com.

The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing at Kancheepuram is all set to become an institution of national importance with Parliament today approving a bill in this regard. … Replying to a debate on the bill, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said there was need for more such institutes particularly in backward states like Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan besides Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast. He said if the state governments wanted to set up such institutes, the Centre would provide all assistance.

Odisha should not delay in pushing for the proposed IIIT in Berhampur.

2 comments August 25th, 2011

Minority Affairs Ministry asked to arrange land, funds for new varsities : Hindu

Following is from a report in http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/25/stories/2011052567412200.htm.

Union Human Resource Development Ministry (HRD) has asked the Minority Affairs Ministry to make available land and additional resources if its proposal for establishing three universities — in Bihar, Rajasthan and Karnataka — was to be pushed in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. The HRD Ministry has already given in-principle approval to these universities meant to address the “very high deficit as far as Muslim participation in higher education was concerned.”

The Minority Affairs Ministry proposes to set up three universities on Wakf land at Bangalore, Ajmer and Kishanganj — to be known as Tipu Sultan University of Science and Technology (Karnataka), Khwaja Gareeb Nawaz University of Professional, Technology, and Vocational Education (Rajasthan) and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai University of Health and Medical Sciences (Bihar).

While conveying its in-principle approval, the HRD Ministry had pointed out that the proposed universities could not be accommodated in 11th Plan unless additional financial resources were made available as plan outlays are being used up in the 16 new Central universities already established by it and it was the fag-end of the plan period.

During inter-ministerial consultations on the proposed universities, the Minority Affairs Ministry had three options of either starting the universities by the minority community itself on Wakf land and declared as deemed university under the University Grants Commission Act, or to be established under an Act of Parliament declaring them as minority institutions such as the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), where the Act was amended in 1981 to define the university as established by the Muslims. The third option was to set up the universities as collaboration between the government and the Wakf Board where the latter could contribute by way of land while financing would be done by the government, and Wakf Board representatives would be included in the Senate and managing bodies of the universities.

In the last named collaborative model, one option was that while the universities would be set up under an Act of Parliament, they will not have any explicit minority character; however as provided in Article 46 of the Constitution, a special dispensation could be made for preference to candidates of economically weaker sections.

Another option in the third model was to examine if it was legally permissible to admit Muslim minority students in recognition of the contribution of Wakf land for the purpose.

The expert committee ruled out the option of deemed university; the Ministry of Law and Justice ruled out the second option as it would have been inconsistent with the Aziz Basha judgment of Supreme Court and the Ministry of Minority Affairs is left with the third option.

The HRD Ministry is willing for setting up these institutions in any of the modes …

The HRD Ministry had also suggested an alternative of accommodating the three universities within the AMU as part of ongoing expansion of instead of setting up new universities. The suggestion to establish campuses of AMU at the three places was not agreed to on the ground that the ongoing expansion of AMU has serious misgivings amongst the alumni who feel that off-campuses would dilute the residential character of AMU.

July 6th, 2011

Ministry of I & B strategic plan 2011-17 includes new IIMC campuses, upgrading the campuses to IIMC Delhi level, and making them institutes of national importance

(Thanks to Debi Sarangi for the pointer.)

The strategic plan is available at http://www.cable-quest.in/pdfs/StrategicPlan%20of%20I&B%20ministry.pdf. Following are some relevant excerpts.

(viii) INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MASS COMMUNICATION:
The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the field of communication teaching, training & research. The Institute was set up on August 17, 1965, as a department of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India in response to a need felt to evolve a methodology for effective use of communication resources as part of the country’s overall development strategy. The Institute was registered under the Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860 on 22nd January, 1966 and receives grant-in-aid from the Govt. of India through the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to meet its recurring & non-recurring expenditure. While IIMC provides knowledge and skills to communicators in a variety of disciplines, including print, photography, radio & television, development communication, communication research, advertising & public relations, the Institute also collaborates with national & international agencies in conducting seminars, training, workshops, etc. It also undertakes joint research projects and organizes short- term courses to meet the specific needs of the industry, government and public sector organizations. The Institute presently have a branch at Dhenkanal in Orissa and propose to set up four new Regional Centres in the States of J&K, Kerala, Mizoram and Maharashtra.

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(v)    Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) (http://iimc.nic.in/)

Run courses with the objective to produce well-equipped communication professionals sensitive to needs of changing mass communication scenario; Conduct of short term specialized courses to meet the professional training needs of media personnel working in the Central/State Governments and Public Sector Organisations;

Conduct of seminars, symposia and conferences on various themes of communication with a view to contributing better understanding of communication in the context of India and other developing countries; Provide consultancy services on request to Central/State Government Departments and Public Sector Undertakings, in designing and organizing training and research programmes related to Development communication.

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(a) The following steps needs to be taken –

1.    First step
* Up-Gradation of One-Year PG Diploma Courses into Two-Year Advanced PG Diploma Courses.
* Seeking of Equivalence to Masters Degrees for the Two-Year PG Diploma Courses from Ministry of HRD.
*    Introduction of at least 2 new Two-Year PGD Courses: in Development Journalism and in Corporate Communication & Media Management.
*   Setting up of 4 new Branches ofIIMC in J&K, Mizoram, Maharashtra & Kerala.

2. Second step
*   An Act of Parliament to declare IIMC an ‘Institute of National Importance’ such as the IITs, AIlMS, NIFT, etc., thereby also giving it Degree-granting powers.
* IIMC proposes to continue using its established and well-recognised Brand arne,    as in the case of the above Institutes.

Upgradation of branches to full-fledged Institutes offering all Courses at par with IIMC, Delhi.
*    Provision of Buildings, Infrastructure, and expansion or Technical Equipment and Human Resources at the 4 new Branches of IIMC (DPRs to be prepared after allocation of land by State Governments and in-principle approval of the Planning Commission).
*    Dialogues with various State Governments for opening of new IIMC Branches in their States and pursuing them to allot at least 10-15 acres of land free of cost and also made available temporary accommodation for start of the courses from 2015-16.

3. Third Step
*    Introduction of Specialized and Niche Courses (a)    At least 2 new Two-Year PGD Courses
(i)    Development Journalism
(ii)    Corporate Communication and Media Management (b) More extensive Courses leading to better job prospects for students (c) Advanced academic programmes such as M.Phil and Doctoral Programmes (d) More Post Graduate MA, M.Phil. and Ph. D. Programmes
*    Enhanced National and International recognition of IIMC and its programmes and enhanced interaction with the best international Universities and institutes in the field.
* Access to research and training funds from National and international funding bodies.
*    Creation of IIMC Affiliates abroad.

*    Correspondence with International Media Institutions/Government for opening of Centres in their Countries.

(b) Requirement of resources (i) Financial
*    IIMC has already been sanctioned an outlay of Rs. 51.50 Crores for the activities mentioned in the first step as above
*    Based on the current trend of requirements, provision of buildings, infrastructure and expansion of technical equipments for a branch for establishing a permanent campus will be approximately Rs. 100 Crores, excluding the cost of land, which would be provided by the State Governments free of cost ( Total Requirement for four branches will be Rs. 400 Cr)
*    Financial requirement for the introduction of various Advanced Courses, M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. will be approximately Rs. 10 Crores
* Financial requirement for introduction of new branches in other States will be approximately Rs. 5 Crores in temporary accommodation to be provided by State Governments free of cost

Total Requirement : Rs. 415 Cr

(ii) Human Resources –
*    150 personnel will be required to achieve the activities detailed in the first steps

*    Additional 25 personnel per branch will be required for fulfilling the activities given in the next steps

July 4th, 2011

Setting up of 20 new IIITs

The MHRD in its page http://www.education.nic.in/tech/tech-newIIITs.asp has put several documents regarding this. The list of documents present there are:

• Scheme of the setting up of 20 new IIITs on PPP model.
• Records of discussion of the workshop on setting up of 20 new IIITs on PPP model organized on 18th March 2011 at IIT, Delhi.
• Draft – Memorandum of Association and Rules of IIIT. 
• Draft – Memorandum of Agreement between the President of India; the Governor of the State and Industry Partner namely in connection with setting up 20 new IIITs  on PPP model. 
• Draft format for Proposals  from the Government/UTs for setting up of new IIIT. 
• Draft recommendations for selecting industry partners for setting up IITs in PPP mode.
• Draft criteria for selection of proposals received from the State Government/Union Territories for setting up of new IIITs.
• DPR on setting up new IIITs.

It will be a competitive process in terms of which ones are made when. Several states are gearing up for this. Recently there has been news about this from states such as:

• Maharashtra, proposing it to be in the Pune-Mumbai belt. (May 25, 2011).
• Chhatisgarh. (May 29, 2011).
• Himachal Pradesh. (May 21, 2011)
• Karnataka, in Dharwad (May 19, 2011).
• Bihar (May 2 2011).

Earlier there was news from West Bengal (Feb 17, 2011) and Odisha (Feb 22, 2011). But this is before the 18th March 2011 meeting and the recent publication of the "Draft criteria for selection of proposals received from the State Government/Union Territories for setting up of new IIITs". Odisha government needs to immediately respond with a good proposal that addresses all aspects of the draft criteria. Odisha’s work is cut-out as proposing Berhampur as a location would need a very strong and well-articulated proposal. The readers from Berhampur, and those who want this to be in Berhampur, need to help the government in this.

3 comments May 29th, 2011

Conclusions and Recommendations of the Kakodkar committee report titled “Taking IITs to Excellence and Greater Relevance”

The report is available at http://www.education.nic.in/tech/KakodkarCommitteeReport-05132011.pdf. Following is from the Summary and Recommendations section of the report.

It is clear that India needs a major boost to the quality of higher engineering education. Frontline research, cutting edge technology, innovation and entrepreneurship alongside teaching and mentoring are key ingredients of high- quality education. This is crucial in the context of our national development aspirations, growing economy with inclusive participation, creating opportunities for our youth and building our competitiveness in the emerging knowledge- driven global economy. The IITs are by far the only institutions which can lead this process on a scale commensurate with the needs of our country. The IITs can also help several other higher engineering education institutions, particularly those with the potential to further catalyse this process and enhance our national capability towards this objective.

The transformation of IITs into institutions that meet such an objective would mean that the IITs have a talent pool comparable with the best in the world with capability to liberally support their creativity to realize the fullest potential. It also presupposes that the IITs have a flexible governance system that can innovate management support that is specific to the needs of taking new ideas and initiatives forward. Such an environment also attracts external talent and ideas.

The IITs thus need to further enlarge and strengthen themselves as major research institutions with focus on the development of high capability human resource. This inevitably would mean considerable scale up, particularly in terms of PhD programmes. It is necessary to calibrate this process in a manner that leads to sustained augmentation of quality. The IITs are presently under considerable strain on account of rapid expansion with considerable difficulties and backlog in terms of faculty recruitment and augmentation of infrastructure. Bridging the gap between the present state and the end objective with respect to the IITs has to be a sustained long process spanning 10–15 years with most additional faculty strength inevitably coming from IIT PhDs since there are few other sources of high quality engineering PhDs within the country. Even the most aggressive recruitment of PhDs from foreign universities, which must be pursued vigorously, is unlikely to be adequate to meet domestic needs in time.

The IITs have distinguished themselves for the quality of their B.Tech degrees. IIT’s brand image is primarily due to the very distinguished performance of its B.Tech students. A distinctive feature of the IIT B.Tech programme is its co- existence with an equally large postgraduate teaching and research domains. Certain parameters of this successful programme, such as a nearly equal UG : PG proportion and student : faculty ratio of 10:1, have stood the test of time and should be preserved.

Apart from the large-scale need for high quality engineering graduates to meet the needs of various segments of demand for them, there is also the need for high performing engineering graduates to be a feed into the postgraduate programme, more particularly the PhD programme. The number of B.Techs graduating from the IITs is unlikely to be adequate for this purpose. While intense efforts have been proposed to attract IIT B.Techs into PhD programme, it is also necessary to focus on other engineering education institutions of good quality (in particular the NITs, ISERs, etc.) to become feeders for quality graduate engineers into PhD programmes of IITs.
To support a significantly expanded and high-quality PhD programme, the research infrastructure at the IITs needs considerable augmentation. While doing so, the research has to be broad-based to cover various dimensions like research on the frontiers; coordinated research involving several groups to address major areas of national priority, research to meet the needs of industry and the society, participation in the R&D needs of industry and of Government, etc. This would create holistic learning opportunities for students by exposing them to realistic hands-on experience and at the same time bringing significant resources into the IITs over a period of time.

Such an environment needs to be richly endowed and liberally supported. More important, it should have its own governance structure that can flexibly address the needs in specific cases without being constrained by the inflexibilities of governmental working. This is a prerequisite for attracting and retaining talent, which is at the core of the performance of such institutions.

It is proposed that the IITs be financially supported by the Government through plan budget to meet their infrastructure needs as well as the research needs of the Government. Research students, both at the masters and doctoral levels, should also be supported by the Government on a per student basis. The IITs should recover the full operational cost of education through fees and not derive any input through non-plan budget of the Government. A special and hassle-free bank loan arrangement has been recommended as part of the admission process to support and facilitate access to all eligible and deserving students.

We feel that it should be possible to make the IITs administratively and financially autonomous to realize the objectives enumerated above and reach the full potential of the IIT system. Key recommendations being made by the Committee include (i) self-empowered Boards comprising all key stakeholders, (ii) creating a system of mandatory peer reviews, (iii) mutually agreed respective commitments between the Government and IIT on the basis of an annual MoU duly overseen by the IIT Council, and (iv) transparency in working. The Government’s commitment to support research at the IITs to their maximum potential is an important assumption that forms the basis of the Committee’s recommendations. The Committee also feels that all the recommendations should be considered as part of a single package and accepted or rejected as a whole, and not treated in parts.

The specific recommendations of the Committee are given below:

IITs as Research Institutions

1. Make IITs the Primary Research Institutes, with a focus on high quality frontier research and technology development within the Indian context.

2. Scale up PhD students from less than 1000 PhD graduates per year today to 10,000 PhD graduates by 2020-25 from about 20 IITs (15 existing IITs plus 5 new to be set up over the next several years in states where there are no IITs).

3. Scaling PhD scholars’ admissions to include enabling bright UGs being admitted for PhD at the end of their third year, teachers from other institutes joining for PhD and significant numbers from industry joining sponsored/part-time PhD programme. It is strongly recommended that a fellowship scheme covering all categories of PhD students is in place.

4. The faculty: student ratio is 1:10; while the UG : PG ratio is close to 1:1.

5. Each IIT should aim to acquire technology leadership in at least 3 to 4 areas.

6. Research groups in one or more IITs to take up large projects together to address major national challenges

7. Set up research parks at each of the IITs similar to the IIT-M Research Park.

8. Enable Ministries to set up R&D labs in IITs to drive Technology Development relevant to national programmes being piloted by them.

9. Large-scale Executive M.Tech training programmes for industry jointly conducted with the IITs using video links.

Financial Autonomy and Governance

10.    Government to financially support research at the IITs in the plan mode to realize their full potential for national needs in terms of research, technology and human resource in science, technology and entrepreneurship. For this purpose an annual outlay on the basis of Rs 1.5 lakhs per student should be made available to each of the established IITs. For the new IITs which are at present in project mode and do not have any significant endowment, an endowment grant of Rs. 50 crore per IIT (over next 5 years) may be made available to enable a degree of flexibility in academic activities.

The IITs need to expand infrastructure to support a scaled up academic and research programme as recommended above. This would also require capital funds for infrastructure expansion from the Government at Rs. 20 lakh per additional student. There is also a need to rejuvenate the existing ageing infrastructure at Rs. 5 lakh per student as existing on March 2011. Funds allotted for expansion taking place currently to accommodate OSC recommendations have been found to be inadequate and need to be increased to    Rs 15 lakh per student.

11.    MHRD to pay the full operating cost of education plus a scholarship for all postgraduate students (PhD, MS and M.Tech) as well as for undergraduate students from reserved category and economically weaker sections. Some merit-cum-means scholarship should also be made available to needy and deserving students. A hassle free loan facility not requiring any collateral or parental guarantee to be made a part of the admission process. No student should be denied education in an IIT after getting admission due to lack of means.

12.    Except for legacy payments like old pension, the IITs are to be financially independent of the non-plan budget of the Government. Fees are to be fixed at a level to cover operational expenditure.

13. IITs are to be totally independent of MHRD for their governance and management functions. They are to be run by their Boards with all rules and regulations made by their Boards. This includes management structure, rules and regulations for faculty/staff hiring and remuneration, approving of budgets and fixing fees, expenditure rules and processes and audit processes. C&AG audit to continue based on financial rules formulated by the Boards.

14.    IITs need to enhance their financial inputs through donations. The donor should be eligible for a full deduction of their contribution against their income under the Income Tax Act as is currently allowed for any grants made to Universities in India under Sec 35AC of the Income Tax Act 1961. A notification or an amendment is essential in the law to include IITs in this list.

15. IIT Boards will select and appoint a Director using a search committee process. IIT Boards will nominate the Chairman to be appointed after approval of the IIT Council.

16.    The Board will consist of one representative from the Central government, one from the state government, three industry persons selected from a panel recommended by the Chairmen of CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM (in a joint meeting), three scientists selected from a panel recommended by four Indian Academy Presidents (INSA, NASI, INAE, IASC) (in a joint meeting), two alumni (who are not IIT employees), two faculty from the institute, one eminent citizen appointed by the Board, the Chairman and the Director. The panels recommended by industry association Chairmen and Presidents of Academy will need approval of the IIT Council.

17.    The IITs will sign a MoU with MHRD every year in line with the aims and policies of the Government of India. The MoU should include budgets and fees approved by its Board, capital expenditure (plan money), pension money and scholarships that MHRD would provide and expansion needs (if any). It would also include aims and goals set by the IIT for the year. The MoU would need to be reviewed and approved by the IIT Council.

18. The Visitor may require the IIT Council to appoint an external review committee for each IIT once in 5 years. The report of the review committee and action taken is to be made public. The Government may require the IITs to take appropriate action in light of the findings of the review committee.

19.    The emergency powers of the Visitor over the IITs are to continue.
Faculty

20.    Scaling up of quality faculty is the key. It is required to scale up to 16,000 faculty members in about 10 years (from a little over 4000 currently).

21.    Part-time/Adjunct faculty from industry, visiting faculty and post-doctoral in IITs to be strengthened. 22. Faculty pay-scales and remuneration is to be decided by the respective Boards. Pay-scales have to be decided within the financial constraints of the institute.

23. The Board of each IIT will decide on the roles, responsibilities and appraisal of their faculty. Faculty roles include teaching, research, technology development and industrial consultancy, as well as policy/standards development. Besides, they may be involved in administration. It is suggested that each faculty sets their yearly goals and the time they would spend in these 5 activities. At the end of each year, they would carry out a self-appraisal and provide evidence of their work. Departmental committees will review the appraisals for Assistant Professors and an institute-level committee will review the appraisals for others. Once in 5 years, an external review of these appraisals will be carried out.

24.    Today, the IITs and their faculty do not have the experience and expertise to take into account the “technological development and industrial consultancy roles” played by the faculty during their appraisals and evaluation. This needs to be strengthened.

Role of Staff

25.    The IIT Boards will decide on staff numbers, remuneration and pay-scales.

26. It is suggested that most staff members be hired as outsourced staff on contract. Young staff members who start their career at the IITs and work for there 5–10 years would be well trained to be absorbed in industry. This
way the IITs would get young motivated staff members. Innovation and Entrepreneurship

27. The IITs must recognize that technology development, innovation and nurturing entrepreneurship are some of their key tasks.

28. The IITs must also recognize that Innovation thrives when faculty, experienced industry persons and students interact in formal and informal environments. The creation of such an ecosystem is a necessity.

29.    The B.Tech and M.Tech Curriculum is very structured and does not allow creative students to do courses across departments, take off for a semester for a start-up venture and come back or take up some project work instead of a course. The curriculum is designed for large numbers of ordinary students and not for exceptional students. This needs correction. Similarly, the IITs do not easily allow students of one branch to do MS/PhD in another. Even while hiring faculty, they look for B.Techs only in the discipline they are to teach. The system needs to adopt greater flexibility to provide greater choice to students so that they are better prepared for a chosen career option.

30.    IIT faculty members have poor commercial understanding. This comes in the way of technology development or innovation. Greater interaction with industry in the product development mode should be adopted.

31.    Entrepreneurship is not about space or computers; it requires nurturing a business. Only faculty who understand this should drive entrepreneurship cells.

Scaling Engineering Education with Quality in India

32. India, with its billion people, has huge demand for quality engineering education. Unfortunately, even though more than a million students are admitted to engineering colleges today, except for the IITs and some other institutions, the quality of education in most other engineering colleges is not of the desired quality. The Committee recommends a plan to create at least 100,000 quality engineering graduates per year through Central government-funded institutions alone. Hopefully, the state governments and private efforts would add to this significantly.

33. The Committee recommends identification/creation of 50 Central government-funded institutions (other than the 20 IITs) which could be nurtured with the help of young IIT faculty. These would include NITs, ISERs, NISER, IIIT and certain other institutions. This would be done through 5 enthusiastic young faculty members with a proven level of excellence for each such institution, who would be identified in consultation with the Director and Chairman of the Board of Governors for induction in the Board and Senate of these institutions. They would be tasked with driving excellence in these institutions by leveraging the IITs. An outlay of Rs. 50 lakh each should be made available to such faculty to support research in the institute with IIT collaboration.

34.    With their advent at a historic cusp in the evolution of technical education in India, the new IITs present a unique opportunity for a major upward movement in the IIT system. Without the legacy of many decades of established tradition, a new IIT can boldly experiment with radically new ways of teaching, research and administration. In teaching, the shortage of experienced faculty could be turned into a benefit by judicious use of multimedia and networking technologies to augment the classroom experience. In research, apart from setting up state-of-the-art facilities, the new IITs can build collaborative relationships with like-minded institutions around the world. (Also see Appendix VII.)

In the established IITs, the Directors and Board spend much of their time and energy dealing with vexatious issues such as service conditions of long- time staff. This distracts from their ability to spend quality time on academic innovations and impact. The new IITs could devise administrative and staffing structures that avoid these vexatious issues.

The Board, the Director and the faculty of the new IITs should be selected for their openness to new ideas and should be encouraged to experiment with teaching, research and administration.

The new IITs have a unique potential to catalyse the transformation of the IIT system. Hence, they need special treatment to ensure that they realize this potential by building on the strengths of the IIT system while avoiding its weaknesses.

May 20th, 2011

Excerpts from the executive summary of the Kakodkar committee report titled “Taking IITs to Excellence and Greater Relevance”

The report is available at http://www.education.nic.in/tech/KakodkarCommitteeReport-05132011.pdf. Thanks to Devasis Sarangi for the pointer. The members of this committee were: Anil Kakodkar (Chair), T. V. Mohandas Pai, Hari Bhartia, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, K. Mohandas, Ashok Thakur, M. Anandakrishnan, Gautam Barua, T. A. Gonsalves, K. Sudhakar and S. Ramesh Babu. Following are excerpts from the executive summary of the report.

A committee was constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) vide its order F.NO.19-3/2009-TS 1 of 3 February 2010 to suggest a roadmap for the autonomy and future of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) as world-class institutions for research and higher learning.

… We should be in the forefront to meet the growing human needs with minimum use of earth resources in a manner that keeps the environment around us protected. We need to nurture a large science and technology (S&T) based innovation ecosystem that creates solutions for India’s inclusive development and economic growth. The creation of a large pool of researchers (with PhD) commensurate with the size of our population and economy as well as our aspirations, is a key necessity for the realization of these objectives.

… In terms of research, the IITs are continuously enhancing their research activities as evidenced by the increasing number of PhDs coming out of the IIT system. In fact, most PhDs in engineering in the country are now coming from the IITs. Even so, the number of PhDs that come out annually from the IITs is very small (about 1000 per year) in comparison to the size of our country, size of our economy and number of youth in the country. Further, only about 1% of IIT B.Techs do PhD at the IITs. … The IITs, being the largest system for high-level engineering R&D and human resource development in an ambience of high-level research, have thus to take on the challenge of creating an advanced research-based innovation ecosystem that, on a national scale, is large enough to make a significant positive difference. For this purpose, while the scale of high-level research at the IITs needs to be considerably enhanced and broad based with the involvement of industry and national technology related programmes, the IITs should also contribute in a significant way to the research and development capability and culture in the country at large (by creating a large pool of PhD graduates). If one looks around the world, most of the best technology institutions in the world have 15,000+ students as opposed to 6000+ currently at each of the established IITs. USA and China produce around 8000–9000 PhDs in engineering and technology annually while in India the corresponding number presently is around 1000. With this background, and considering the large gap that we have to bridge in realizing our development aspirations, we need a large-scale increase in the number of PhDs coming out from the IITs. The Committee has therefore suggested that each IIT should progressively grow to have around 1200 faculty (from around 500 today) and closer to 12,000 students with maximum growth coming from an enhanced number of PhD students. While the established IITs could aim at reaching this scale up in about 10 years from now, the newer IITs could take longer. Further, the Committee has suggested setting up of 5 more IITs over this period of time. Thus, the Committee has recommended the number of IIT PhD graduates per year to be scaled up to 10,000, while continuously enhancing quality.

… The Committee has suggested a minimum of 0.6 PhDs per faculty annually, eventually reaching 1 PhD per faculty. On this basis, the Committee has suggested that we should aim at scaling the IIT system to 16,000 faculty and 160,000 total student strength (with 40,000 at the PhD level, 40,000 at the Masters level and 80,000 UG students) by around the year 2020. Each year, then, the IIT system will admit 10,000 PhDs.

…Finding faculty in adequate numbers to meet the needs of OSC expansion as well as new IITs has in itself been a major challenge. Coping with faculty needs for scaling up the PhD programme to the above-mentioned level would thus have to primarily depend on the PhD programme at the IITs itself.

Feeders to such a large PhD programme in the form of bright engineering graduates have to be of a size commensurate with the requirements. While students with a Masters degree and, to some extent B.Tech students, of IITs would constitute an important channel (all efforts must be made to attract them into the IIT PG stream), one would need to tap other channels to get quality students in adequate numbers. The Committee has therefore suggested engagement of IITs with other good quality engineering and science education institutions, particularly those of the Central government like NITs, IIITs and IISERs, with a view to enlarge the pool for selection of quality students and also attract their faculty into the PhD programme. The Committee has also suggested special efforts be made to identify and pick up bright 3rd year students of IITs, NITs and such other such public or private institutions and to initiate them into the PhD programme. Further, the Committee has suggested an augmented intake of PhD students from industry and the engineering education system in the country. IITs being at the top of engineering education in the country should act as an inspiration to raise the level of engineering education in other public and private institutions. This would result in enrichment of these institutions, which is long overdue. Of course, for all this to happen, the IITs would have to aggressively pursue candidates from these different streams to join their PhD programme. To support such a large number of PhD students (40,000 at a time) with challenging and meaningful research problems would require comprehensive augmentation of research facilities and infrastructure. The Committee has proposed significant augmentation/addition in the following four domains. This would be over and above the current mode of support through various research funding agencies for individual proposals submitted to them by the faculty.

1. Identify 3–4 areas of recognized strength involving a reasonable faculty strength at each IIT and support them massively to become the world’s best. Selection of such areas should be done on the basis of demonstrated high-level capability.

2. Take up large coordinated research projects involving a number of groups from different disciplines (from same or different IITs) to address important national challenges/other grand challenges with specific pre-defined deliverables.

3. Establish research parks with significant industry presence at each IIT on the lines of a research park established at IIT Madras, to enable industry–academia collaborations and build a Research and Innovation ecosystem.

4. Establish special laboratories of government ministries/their Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) at IITs to strengthen indigenous capability in key areas of national importance. It is expected that such augmentation of research infrastructure in the IITs would create useful linkages between them and the external world, thus making research at IIT more meaningful. More importantly, this would lead to a broad-based innovation ecosystem of which IIT students and faculty will be an integral part.

World-class institutions are characterized by the existence of a large high quality talent pool (faculty, students and visiting researchers), vibrant academic and research linkages with external better quality institutions, availability of liberal resources and a flexible and conducive governance system that can recognize and selectively support credible new ideas in a hassle-free manner. Funding and autonomy of the IITs are thus key areas that need serious attention.

Towards enhancing autonomy that would provide the IITs the necessary flexibility to support and deal with a new idea or take a new initiative and lead them towards world-class excellence, it is proposed that each Institute be fully governed by its Board of Governors (BoG), including aspects like financial planning and expenditure rules, faculty remuneration, fees and number of faculty and staff, within the overall policy guidelines of the IIT Council in terms of expectations from IITs as world-class institutions, affirmative actions, technology directions and human resource development. The composition of the Board would enable representation of all stakeholders. The Committee has suggested that the Board should have one representative each from MHRD and the state governments. Other members could be selected from panels (duly approved by the IIT Council) prepared by S&T academies and Industry associations; also the alumni and faculty would also be represented. The Board will select the Chairperson following a due process and appoint him/her after approval by the Council. A search committee appointed by the Board would select the Director for approval and appointment by the Board. Selection of the next set of members to replace those retiring, would be done by a nomination committee of the Board and approved by the Board. Each institute would subject itself to a comprehensive institution review by an internationally eminent group once every 5 years. Such reviews which will be overseen by the IIT Council, will have focus on quality, programmes, their direction and size, working of the institutions and suggestions for change, including new initiatives. These review reports shall be made public. Further, there will be an annual MoU between the Government and each IIT, with the Council’s oversight and guidance. Such MoUs would include commitments, responsibilities and deliverables on both sides (Government and IIT). The Visitor would retain emergency powers as at present.

… Attracting the best faculty to the IITs is thus of crucial importance. This would require a strong academic, research and innovation culture and a conducive and transparent organization that nurtures excellence. It has to be driven by the Director and faculty and there should be additional attractions like significant start-up funds that would enable researchers get on with their research from day one. The BoG should have the flexibility to decide on faculty remuneration. It is proposed that there should be a system of faculty assessment in terms of several parameters like teaching, research, technology development and industrial consultancy, policy research and service with differentiated faculty remuneration based on performance-based assessment. At the same time, a tenure system for faculty needs to be examined. The Committee has also suggested the need to enable and encourage some mid-career faculty from the established IITs to shift to newer IITs and for overseas faculty to join IIT.

Institutions like IITs that are devoted to growth in the knowledge, technology and innovation domains and related human capital development, should be seen as asset builders for the nation in the modern knowledge-driven economy. The Committee has thus suggested that IITs be made independent of non-plan (operational) support from the Government for their operational expenditure while at the same time seeking greater plan (capital) support to enhance research in a comprehensive manner, as outlined above. The objective of realizing autonomy would be facilitated by de-linking IIT finances with non-plan support of the Government. The enhanced plan support to IITs would have three components: (i) Student support at postgraduate and research level on a per student basis through scholarships, (ii) research support aimed at pushing the frontiers of knowledge and innovation and (iii) massive augmentation of infrastructure to support larger numbers of students.

It is proposed that the fee charged by the IITs should cover the full operational cost of education, which works out to be roughly 30% of the total current cost of education. A hassle- free bank loan scheme specific to IIT students has been proposed. No collateral would be required. This would enable access to all eligible and deserving students. Further, it has been proposed that MHRD should fully provide for fees and living expenses as per currently prevalent norms at IITs for all research students (PG) as well as UG students from weaker sections. In addition, all students whose parental income is less than Rs 4.5 lakh per annum (to be revised from time to time), should be paid scholarships covering 100% fees, and a monthly stipend. Incentives in the form of deferment of loans for students entering postgraduate education and research and proportionate repayment of loan for students joining as faculty and researchers into programmes at IITs and other areas identified by the Government, have been proposed. The Committee has also recommended that all government ministries should provide a minimum of 20% overheads without ceiling on the R&D projects sanctioned to IITs. This is necessary to avoid strain on institute resources as they undertake enlarged R&D activities. Most US universities charge overheads to the tune of 50%. Industrial consultancy and royalty, alumni and industrial grants/donations and continuing education programmes, including executive M.Tech programmes, would be some other modes for enhancing IIT finances. It is expected that IIT resources through non-governmental sources would further improve in a significant way once the IITs acquire financial autonomy.

With this background, the Committee has suggested that the tuition fees should be between Rs 2–2.5 lakh per year per student. This would be reasonable considering the high demand for IIT graduates and the salary that an IIT B.Tech is expected to get. There is a legacy commitment in the form of retirement benefits under the old pension scheme (to the tune of around Rs 221 crore for all IITs in 2010). This should be continued to be paid by the Government till the end of the scheme.

To support research at IITs, MHRD should provide plan funds at Rs 1.5 lakh per student annually. The newer IITs do not have any significant endowment funds at present. Hence, Rs 50 crore as seed endowment over the next 5 years has been proposed for each new IIT.

On the capital investment front, the Government should support an Expansion Budget at Rs 20 lakh per additional student. In addition, a sum of Rs 5 lakh per student would be required in the established IITs for regeneration of ageing infrastructure. It is also assessed that for OSC- related expansion costs, Rs 15 lakh per student should be provided as Rs 10 lakh per student provided presently has been found to be inadequate. The IITs must nurture an ambience of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to make India a world leader in the present-day knowledge economy. In order to achieve this, we should have substantially enhanced Industrial collaboration with a focus on technology development in the Indian context. A strong industry–academia relationship is of key importance. Initially, there needs to be significant give and take on both sides. But this will make a significant difference to teaching and research at the IITs and will train IIT graduates to take India to a leadership position. One should also encourage industry R&D personnel to become adjunct faculty and enable large numbers of industry persons to do PhD. Research Parks create the right ecosystem to bring students, faculty and industry R&D personnel together. It is proposed that Rs 200 crore be provided for setting up a Research Park on the lines of the IIT Madras Research Park at each IIT. The IITs need to learn that success in entrepreneurship often comes only after multiple failures and substantial benefits accrue only if R&D is pursued over long periods. We need to create a value system that takes these factors into account. IITs have to make special efforts to learn to evaluate faculty focusing on product development. Outsourcing of support activities to the maximum extent possible has been strongly recommended. IITs should strive to minimize the number of regular employees for non- technical support functions. All decisions with regard to staff, including numbers and remuneration, should be decided by the BoG. Most scientific staff is proposed to be on project mode, with flexibility of salaries for temporary staff. The technical staff could be in-sourced wherever possible. Here, the use of PhD students as teaching assistants would be of help. On the administration side, maximum possible computerization of functions has been recommended to reduce the requirement of administrative staff. Hiring of some professional mid-career staff could be considered to make the administration more efficient. They should be observed for their performance for a few years before they are regularized. Scaling up engineering education with quality would ensure availability of quality human resource for meeting India’s needs. It will also be an excellent feeder pool to critical areas as well as into the PhD programmes. Seventy Centrally funded institutions (including IITs) should therefore graduate 100,000 high quality engineers every year. While the share of 20 IITs could be 20,000 B.Techs, the 50 other institutions should plan to graduate 80,000 graduates every year in about 10 years from now. Hopefully, state governments and private institutions could create additionally at least 200,000 quality seats. This will create a reasonable sized science and engineering pool for India’s future.

As a part of IITs’ engagement in this process, each of the 50 Centrally funded science and engineering institutions (like NITs, IIITs, IISER, NISER) could select 5 bright young (aged around 35 years) faculty members from the IIT system and invite them to be a member of their BoG and Senate. They could be tasked to build a relationship with the concerned IIT department and young faculty at the Institute to enable and enhance research collaboration (Rs 50 lakh to be identified for each faculty for this purpose) between the institute and the IITs. They would encourage B.Techs to join PhD programmes at the IITs and, if necessary, get faculty to do PhDs at the IITs. Similarly, they could get some IIT PhDs to join the institute as faculty. It is expected that each faculty spends at least 15 days a year at the institute. One of the consequences of this strategy would also be that young IIT faculty would be trained to be future leaders. In a similar manner, 3 young persons from industry could be identified by each NIT. They could be similarly invited to the Board and be tasked with similar goals.

Amendments to the IIT Act would be necessary to give effect to the above-mentioned recommendations.

Details are given in the report. We strongly suggest that the recommendations of the Committee should be treated as a whole to realize the intended objective. It is also recommended that an empowered Implementation committee should be tasked for implementation of these recommendations and to facilitate transition to the new framework for IITs.

May 19th, 2011

Update on the proposed new 20 IIITs

Following is an excerpt from a report by Charu Sudan Kasturi in Hindustan Times.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal had set up the panel under former Infosys human resources head TV Mohandas Pai to recommend for selection of private partners for the project, which was announced in 2008.

… The panel has recommended that only a consortium of between three and five firms be allowed to partner the Centre for each IIIT and individual firms be barred from partnering solo on an IIIT. Both IT and non-IT companies can partner under the Pai panel’s blueprint.

Each industry partner will need to invest at least Rs 2 crore, and the industry consortium must contribute 15% of the funding required for the IIIT, except in northeast states where they need to provide just 7.5% of the funds. The states government will provide 35% of the funds while the Centre will provide the largest chunk — 50% in most states and 57.5% in northeastern states.

Only members of industry bodies like Assocham, Ficci or CII are eligible and public-listed firms, which have been in operation for at least five years will be preferred. The same company can be a part of consortiums running different IIITs.

The private partners — who are expected to benefit from a steady stream of students entering their industry — will have 25% seats in the Board of Governors, under the blueprint.

May 9th, 2011

Excerpts from TOI interview with the new Utkal University VC Dr. Prashant Kumar Sahu

The interview is at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Student-unrest-wont-occur-in-my-tenure-Prof-Sahu/articleshow/8171439.cms. Following are some excerpts.

Q-The University is often in the news for the wrong reasons like mismanagement, student unrest, etc. What is your plan to bring Utkal University back on track?

A-I want Utkal University to be a centre of excellence and lead centre in research and consultancy works both at the national and international-levels. I studied here. I also taught here. I have a vision. I will try my best in making positive contribution towards achieving the goal during my tenure.

Q-How?

A-Actually we have to develop inter-disciplinary teaching and research. There is a need to restructure the post-graduate programme. One person cannot do this. Hence, I stress upon team work. In other words, different departments ought to sit together, discuss what is being taught to students and their relevance and, if required, redesign them. The changing scenario also warrants the university to reorient its focus, to be collaborative with industries which will eventually benefit the students and the institution as well.

Q-Any specific plan?

A-Professional and job-oriented courses are the need of the time. I have plans to open such programmes like fashion technology, geo-informatics and environment science. I will discuss with my colleagues and explore possibilities of opening other relevant courses.

Q-But Utkal University already has a number of such courses. Don’t you think before going for new ones those already there need to be reviewed to find out the net benefits they are giving to the students?

A-Sure, I agree the course module has to be so designed that students taking admission must not feel they are wasting their time and that they become truly employable. We have a lot of self-financing courses. I will review the course curriculum through experts and go for changes wherever necessary.

Q-Any move for foreign tie-up?

A-That is very much there in my mind. I will explore the possibility of Utkal University undertaking research or launching new course programmes in collaboration with foreign universities. The university has to have linkages with industries. This will go a long way in helping students. I will try to set up some school of studies. For example, management, economics, commerce and personnel management and industrial relations (PMIR) could jointly become a school of studies for the purpose of research and other academic activities.

… I am also a product of the IIM-Ahmedabad. I know management. Utkal University requires a professional and qualified vice-chancellor. I fit the bill.

…

Q-A good library has always been the most attractive place for students. Do you believe the Parija Library meets expectations?

A-A library is the mirror of any educational institution. I have taken it as my priority to improve the quality of the library in the campus. I will try to equip it with latest technology so that students could use it round-the-clock. I have already had a word with the chief librarian. I have sought for a wish list, to be submitted to me soon. Accordingly, we will proceed.

Q-There are also allegations of financial irregularities against the university. What are you going to do with that?

A-I am a professor of finance. I will streamline it.

Q-What about modernizing the administrative apparatus?

A-That is going to happen. There will be an academic calendar, to be followed religiously. The examination system will be completely computerized. On the whole, there will be greater use of information technology in the functioning of the university. Times have changed. We have to tune ourselves so as not to fall behind.

Q-Just buildings or computers do not foster the right kind of academic atmosphere in a university. That is why many educational institutions in India and abroad give stress on creating greenery in their campuses. Utkal University campus pathetically looks desolate.

A-Yes, that is a point no one should forget. I am taking steps. There will be a change.

I will add my thoughts on this soon. Please add your thoughts in the comments section. Please be polite.

My thoughts:

• I disagree with the statement that "Professional and job-oriented courses are the need of the time". It was a few years back. Now, with so many new universities and colleges opening up, there is plenty of job opportunity in academic settings.
• Thus, Utkal University should focus on improving the quality of its programs, its faculty, its research and its graduates and focus on research and producing top-notch Ph.Ds who go into academia all over India.
• With the easy availability of data and information on publications, citations and various benchmarks based on that, many future decisions at MHRD, UGC, DST, etc. will be based on those data. If Utkal University does not focus on those benchmarks it will lose out and as a result Odisha will lose out.
• It should aim to have the best group in some small number of fields, say 3-4. In other words, in those fields, Utkal University should be the best in India and among the top in the world.

7 comments May 6th, 2011

Several branches of Aligarh Muslim University in the pipeline across the country

Update: TOI reports that MHRD has given in-principle approval to locations in Bangalore and Ajmer.

Several branches of Aligarh Muslim University, a central University, is in the pipeline. Following are some news excerpts on them.

• This year’s (2011-12) budget has Rs 50 crore for an Aligarh Muslim University centre at Murshidabad (West Bengal).
• This year’s (2011-12) budget has another Rs 50 crore for an Aligarh Muslim University centre at Malappuram (Kerala).
• 250 acres of land has been allocated for an AMU campus in Kishanganj in Bihar. [Times of India]
• Tamil Nadu WAQF board is trying for an AMU branch. It has identified 250 acres and has approached the center regarding it. [Times of India]

3 comments April 27th, 2011

Update on the universities for innovation

(Thanks to Devasis Sarangi for the pointers.)

Following is from a report in Financial Express.

The ministry of human resource development has zeroed down on 5 of the 14 proposed universities of innovation that would offer students one deep theme of innovation by focussing on one particular area each. The five areas are health, urban planning, energy, liberal arts and power around which an ecosystem of research and teaching would be built.

"These themes are at preliminary stages and the universities can come up only after the overarching body in higher education is in place,” said a ministry official.

The ministry has already started work on the University for Innovation in Liberal Arts but the varsity will be completely publicly funded as not much interest was generated among the private players on this subject.

"The university will be built in the memory of Rabindranath Tagore. It will teach music, physics and maths of music and its relation with the society and arts. Liberal arts will be looked at in an inter-disciplinary manner and not only as psychology or sociology,” said another official privy to the development. The National Development Council of the Planning Commission had approved the setting up of the 14 universities aiming at world class standards and dedicated to innovation across the 11th and 12th Plan period.

The universities are proposed to be located in Orissa, Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, among others. Each university will focus on one area, such as urbanisation, environmental sustainability and public health. The Innovation Universities can be established through multiple modes that is publicly funded, privately funded, public-private partnership or by eminent foreign universities.

"Of the foreign universities who have evinced interest are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Virginia Tech, Columbia University, University of Southern California and the University of Alabama," the official added.

While MIT has expressed interest in mentoring the university that is focused on the energy sector, Columbia University has already started a centre in Mumbai.

 Following is an MHRD memorandum on the university for innovation in liberal arts.

April 4th, 2011

Major higher education and research milestones in Odisha history (work in progress)

(Last Updated on 15th September 2023.)

This grew out of a draft article that I wrote few years ago. I will fill in more details and more items as time permits. Please suggest missing items and links in the comment section. Especially I would like to add information on all the government degree colleges. (A list is at https://sites.google.com/site/orissavision2020/ger-of-ebd-districts.
The list of all degree colleges, about 548 of them, is at
http://dheodisha.gov.in/Defaulter/ReportCollegeProfileSubmitted_DEG.aspx. )

7 comments April 1st, 2011

Bits and pieces of news on the new IIITs; but no recent news on IIIT proposed for Berhampur Odisha

Update:

• Chhatisgarh prepares to have a IIIT. (May 29, 2011)
• Bihar responds quickly on IIIT in Bihar. (May 2, 2011).
• Karnataka is pushing its IIIT to be in Dharwad.
• Odisha responds to the central govt. regarding a IIIT in Odisha.

Following is from a report in sify.com.

Kolkata, Feb 17 (IANS) The central government has approved the plan to set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in West Bengal, the state’s Information Technology Minister Debesh Das said here Thursday.

Following is from a report in dnaindia.com.

The Himachal Pradesh government today said an Indian Institute of Information Technology will soon be set up in the state.

"We have been demanding an IIIT for last one year and are satisfied with the Centre’s response. The union government had asked whether the state could provide the land and funding for the project, and we gave an affirmative reply."

"I will meet HRD minister Kapil Sibal on February 17 in Delhi and put forth our claim for the allotment," state technical education minister Narendra Bragta said.

Following is from a report in prlog.com.

The Indian government has decided to set up an advanced institute to combat cybercrime. The proposed Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) will groom IT professionals. The proposed institute will also develop advanced technologies to tackle cybercrime. The institute will be set up at a cost of INR100 crore on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The cost will be jointly borne by the Central government,  concerned state government depending upon the location of the institute and the industry The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A) will finalize the concept and details of the proposed institute.

So far there is no recent news on the proposed IIIT in Berhampur, Odisha.

1 comment February 18th, 2011

New tribal university in Andhra Pradesh; not clear if it is a centrally funded one or a state funded one

Going back to April 2010, there are several news regarding establishment of a tribal university in Andhra Pradesh. The early news reports talked about it being a state initiative. However, the recent news reports mention experts from outside being involved in evaluating locations and in reporting to the center, which suggests that the center may also be involved in the making of this university. We now give several excerpts.

From Hindu (April 26, 2010): 

Dogged by the question of a dismal State of higher learning among tribals in the State, the government is ‘seriously’ contemplating establishment of a Tribal University. “A strong demand from tribal groups and other concerned sections of society in the recent past has made the government to sit up and think on the ways and means to establish a university,” divulges a top-level source in the Tribal Welfare Department.

“The government had initially explored the possibility of converting Srikakulam’s MG University into a Tribal University. This idea was dropped due to certain practical difficulties,” recalls the officer about the efforts made by the government so far.

The government has also rejected an offer from the Tribal University at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh for affiliating some of the colleges here with it.

From Hindu (Jan 23, 2011):

Andhra Pradesh Tribal University is all set to come up on a 300-acre site in Chintapalle.

A study team of senior professors led by Samaresh Bandopadhyay (Kolkata) with Sudarshan Nadu (Bhubaneswar), Joseph Bara (JNU) and Registrar of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University from Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, Ashok Singh, which inspected the site on Friday, will be submitting feasibility report to the Centre.

“We are absolutely happy that a lot of land is available with facilities like power, water and connectivity. In fact, this place is more accessible than Amarkantak where there is already a university,” Prof. Bandopadhyay told The Hindu at the Visakhapatnam airport after returning from Chintapalle on Saturday noon. The tribal university would provide avenues of education, particularly higher education and research facilities primarily for the tribal population of the country, he said. If everything went on well, the new university at Chintapalle could be started by June, he added.

From TOI (Feb 3, 2011): 

While the Centre is mulling to set up the campus at Chintapalle in Visakhapatnam Agency, …

IGNTU, located in the small pilgrim town of Amarkantak in Anuppur district in Madhya Pradesh, became functional some time ago and has already established its regional campus in Manipur after the state government handed over 370 acres of land for establishment of a permanent campus. Sources said IGNTU was also approached by Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala and Gujarat to open its regional campuses in the respective states.

The government had initially explored the possibility of converting Srikakulam’s Mahatma Gandhi University into a tribal university.

"But the idea was dropped due to practical difficulties and logistical problems. Visakhapatnam became a potential site for the campus as it has basic amenities like power, water and better connectivity," a senior official said.

… After visiting some sites here, the team of senior professors led by registrar of IGNTU Ashok Singh said they would be submitting a report to the Centre soon.

Note that the idea  for a central tribal university was suggested by Orissa CM, on 24th October 2005, which the HRD minister had appreciated. See our earlier posting at https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1087 for more details. 

2 comments February 3rd, 2011